Bike tour in Abruzzo - from the mountains to the Riviera

Day 1Travel Day. Oslo – Rome Fiumicino – Celano

Transfer from the airport in Rome to the town of Celano. Expect about 1.5 – 2 hours transfer. Short stop on the way for a simple lunch (not included in the price).

After arriving at the hotel, you will use the time before dinner for individual adjustment and tuning of your bike. Perhaps there will be time and opportunity for a short test ride in the area. There is also the opportunity to take a trip to the town on your own.

In the evening, there will be a welcome dinner with local specialties in the hotel's restaurant.

Day 2Celano – L`Aquila – Assergi

Today's stage starts with a great climb towards the towns of Ovindoli and Rovere. Several exciting stops along the way, not least at all the castles that the area is famous for. Approximately halfway, you arrive in the city of L'Aquila. The city that became Italy's most destroyed city during the earthquake in the 90s.

After a stop there, you continue towards the town of Assergi, where you find your next accommodation. The hotel is located right next to the mountain lift that goes up to Campo Imperatore, 2200 m above sea level. This is where Benito Mussolini was imprisoned and kept confined, before being released by local fascists.

Today's stage is undulating with approx. 1000 meters of elevation gain. It pays to take it easy on the climbs and enjoy the landscape along the way. After cycling uphill for a while, you get some wonderful, long downhills to L`Aquila. Before it climbs uphill again towards Assergi.

After lunch, there is an option for the group to take different paths if desired.

Dinner is served in the hotel's cozy restaurant.

Day 3Assergi – Campo Imperatore – Rocca Calascio – Santo Stefano – L'Aquila

Two choices of routes today – either approx. 90 km or approx. 67 km / approx. 2000 meters of elevation gain or approx. 1000 meters of elevation gain.
It will be a super exciting day on the bike regardless of the route choice!

This is the day when those of you who really want to ride a classic stage of the Giro see your dream come true! If needed, the group will be divided in two. The first group starts with a demanding climb up to "Piccolo Tibet". This was where Pantani literally crushed all opposition in the Giro d'Italia in 1999!!! Today, it might be YOU riding up here!

The second group starts a bit later, thus getting some extra time in the morning before taking the lift up to Campo Imperatore, 2,200 m above sea level. At the top, the group gathers to continue together on a great route, which goes through many exciting towns with several unique castles, such as Santo Stefano di Sessanio. From Campo Imperatore, it is mostly downhill.

An exciting day! Large parts of the day you are in the high mountains, and actually all the way up to 2,200 m above sea level.

Dinner in the hotel's restaurant.

Day 4L'Aquila – Teramo

This day also goes a bit high up.
Abruzzo's, and indeed the whole of southern Italy's highest mountain, is Gran Sasso at 3,300 m above sea level. You cycle behind, and not over, this majestic mountain, and start the day with a somewhat demanding climb for the very first 25 kilometers. Beautiful!

From the highest point after 25 kilometers, you start the descent towards the coast – for nearly 40 km.
Arriving in Teramo (a medium-sized city), we stay at a 3-star hotel.

Dinner in the hotel's restaurant.

Day 5Teramo – Montesilvano

This day you cycle all the way down to the Adriatic Sea and the city of Montesilvano. Today's stage will be less hilly than previous days, as you now leave the high mountains behind in favor of a slightly more rolling landscape.

Lunch along the route. Then you leave the high mountain peaks and cycle all the way down to the coast and today's accommodation along the long promenade in Montesilvano / Pescara.
You have reached the coast, and here you will naturally find a completely different nature and climate than in the mountains. This might be the stage you like best. The view with the high mountains on one side (where you came from) and the Adriatic Sea on the other – special!

Tonight's dinner will be at a local pizzeria.

Day 6Montesilvano – Chieti – San Vito Chietino

A day where you cycle along the coast towards the trip's final destination – San Vito Chietino, the holiday town for the residents of the city of Pescara. San Vito Chietino has a fantastic beach. You follow the coast northwards through several beautiful towns. A couple of kilometers into the route, you ride inland, through a beautiful rolling landscape with many vineyards. Among other things, you pass the hometown of the boxer Rocky Marciano: Ripa Teatina.

You arrive at the hotel in San Vito Chietino in the early afternoon. A nice hotel located right on the beach.

Farwell dinner in a local restaurant, a so-called Trabucco. An experience! The restaurant is built on stilts in the water. This evening seafood will be served!

Day 7Free day

The day is spent on your own to relax by the pool, spend the whole day at the beach, or go on an exciting bike ride, etc. Your choice.

Should you wish to cycle on this day as well, you can choose between two different routes; a slightly less demanding route of approx. 35 kilometers in flatter terrain along the coast, and a slightly more demanding route of approx. 77 kilometers inland on fantastic cycle paths in a hilly area. Several exciting sights along the way.

You will have lunch during the day, on the beach promenade.
Those who chose the bike day will cycle here, and those who opted for a relaxing day will arrive on foot (short distance). In other words, everyone has the opportunity for some personal time in the afternoon.

A nice farewell dinner at a very local trattoria!

Day 8Departure Day

Check-out from the hotel. Bus to the airport.

The itinerary is preliminary, changes may occur.